Follow Us:

As I sat down to write this (at 5 a.m.), the Assembly was just preparing to debate/vote on the companion statute to the redistricting constitutional amendment and hadn’t yet taken up the Tier IV bill after a long and tumultuous night – and early morning – at the Capitol that saw a big ugly deal of DNA database expansion, legalization of non-Indian casino gambling, pension reform and redistricting (the Senate and Assembly lines, House lines not included).

UPDATE: It’s now 6:23 a.m. and the redistricting statute passed in the Assembly, 117-14, but the Tier VI bill is stuck at 63 66 votes in favor. That’s not enough to pass, and there might not be enough Democrats in the chamber willing to vote “yes.” Counsel Jim Yates is reportedly walking the floor and whipping votes.

Messages of necessity were provided by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who made no public appearances and spoke only through press releases. This enabled the Legislature to circumvent the required three-day aging process for bills. Cuomo is in Albany today, but with no public schedule.

Most of the drama took place in the Senate, where angry Democrats staged a walkout during the redistricting vote.

As a result, the vote on the legislative lines drawn by LATFOR was 36-0, which means the four IDC members all voted “yes.” (They voted “no” on Tier VI, however).

LATFOR attorneys are scheduled to appear in Federal Court in Brooklyn at 11 a.m. to provide an update on their lines. Lawmakers hope Cuomo signs the bill before then to prevent a judicial takeover of the legislative redistricting process.

The House lines are expected to be set by the court, because the Senate and Assembly couldn’t make a deal.

EJ McMahon accused labor of going over-the-top in its opposition to Tier VI, which he deemed a “missed opportunity” for real reform.

The Assembly passed a bill, sponsored by Speaker Sheldon Silver, that would move the state legislative primaries up from Sept. 11 to correspond with the court-ordered US Senate/House primaries on June 26. The Senate seems uninterested in following suit.

Sen. John Bonacic is confident the gambling expansion will result in at least one full-servce casino in the Catskills.

The gambling amendment lacks specifics, other than to add up to seven casinos on non-Indian lands. Said Silver: “We will deal with where, when, how next year in legislation.”

The DNA database deal exempts people convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession from providing a sample if they have no prior criminal record.

Mayor Bloomberg is rolling out the red carpet – and even providing a helicopter tour – to persuade four powerful members of Congress to deliver federal anti-terror funding to the city: Reps. Nita Lowey, Robert Aderhold, David Price and Charlie Dent.

Science Applications International Corp. agreed to pay a record $500 million to avoid federal prosecution for its role in the scandal-tarred CityTime project.

Juan Gonzalez: “In a city where Boss Tweed, Mayor Jimmy Walker, and Stanley Friedman all brazenly pilfered public money during eras gone by, no government scandal compares to the size and scope of CityTime.”

Erie County GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy, who controls the lion’s share of the weighted convention vote, backed Wendy Long to take on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, saying Rep. Bob Turner entered “too late in the game.”

Cuomo has called on NYRA to hire an outside consultant to investigate the recent deaths of 16 horses at Aqueduct race track.

The governor’s inquiry came the same day that HBO ceased all future production of its gritty racetrack series “Luck” following the death of another thoroughbred during filming.

Former Spitzer/Paterson aide Sean Patrick Maloney has added his name to the growing list of Democrats interested to in challenging Rep. Nan Hayworth. (He had planned to run for retiring Rep. Maurice Hinchey’s seat, but that was redistricted out of existence).

Despite encouragement from the DCCC, Ulster County Executive Mike Hein is not running for Congress. He would have challenged Rep. Chris Gibson.

Tompkins County Legislator and hospital administrator Nate Shinagawa will challengeRep. Bill Owens in NY-23. A reader writes: “Actually, Nate is going to run in the “new 23rd,” which, I believe, is Tom Reed’s district. The north country district – Bill’s – is going to be NY-21.” I stand corrected.

A prosecutor accused former Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. and his son, Pedro G., of stealing more than half a million dollars worth of taxpayer cash, saying: “They did it because they were greedy. They did it because they were powerful. They did it because they thought they were going to get away with it.”

Espada Jr.’s attorney pledged to show a jury that “none of Espada’s expenditures were theft.”

Committee on Open Government Executive Director Robert Freeman argues for more transparency at the Capitol.

Bloomberg’s daughter, Georgina, was part of a Humane Society of the US team that rescued 88 dogs and one pregnant calico cat in an all-day raid on a breeding operation whose owners are accused of letting dogs fester in their own filth without water or care.

The D&C’s Gary Craig is struggling with an ethical dilemma regarding records on the Attica prison riot of 1971.

About Capitol Confidential

Capitol Confidential gathers the best coverage of New York politics and puts it all together. Each section - Capitol, The State Worker, New York on the Potomac, and Voices - represents a unique facet of the political scene. The Capitol section features coverage from the Times Union Capitol bureau. The State Worker is dedicated to state worker issues. New York on the Potomac offers news of interest to New Yorkers from Washington. And Voices features the best of everything else, pointing you to columnists and bloggers from across the Web.